In desperate need of a revival of holiness-Part 3
In desperate need of a revival of holiness-Part 3
Leviticus 10:3 “Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honoured.”
Extra Reading: Leviticus 10: 1-20.
We need a true revival of holiness. Any other revival will be spurious and short-lived. Please note that holiness will never be popular, for it demands that self be crucified and all worldliness and sin are abandoned. It involves temporal loss in exchange for spiritual gain. People will make all kinds of excuses in order to evade the challenge to live this higher, deeper, fuller life. I know that denominations differ about some aspects of the teaching on holiness. But seeing we all agree on ninety percent of Christian doctrine, we should not indulge in controversy about the remaining ten percent, more especially in these dark days when wickedness increases so rapidly, and when truth and freedom are in danger. We fall short of God’s perfection. John Wesley described sin as “a voluntary transgression of a known law of God.” Many people have testified to an experience in which the work of sanctification has meant the cleansing of the heart from sinful desire and appetites. But it has not meant freedom from faults, infirmities of the mind, mistakes or from natural, human instincts. Nor has it meant freedom from temptation or from the possibility of defeat. This is Scriptural holiness. We cannot put the standard too high or too low.
No two testimonies of sanctification can ever be alike, though they must all include a clean heart experience. We all express ourselves differently in defining our experience of God’s blessing. God has a different plan for every life, and a different work for each to do. He molds our character according to His perfect will, if we lie still in His hand, as the clay in the hand of the potter. Let us then seek the highest standards of Christian living, and press towards the ideal revealed to us by God. We shall not understand all His dealings or chastenings. There will be shadow as well as sunshine, and both are needed to develop a holy character that will stand the test by fire at the end. Let us pay the price and go through with God. If we do not find this glorious experience of heart rest and heart purity at once, let us keep seeking. The promise is that those who seek shall find (Luke 11:9).
It is easy for those who refuse to seek the blessing to criticize those who do, because of their seeming failures. Someone once said, “It is better to aim at perfection and miss it, than to aim at imperfection and hit it.” And if we keep aiming, one day we shall hit the mark (Philippians 3:14). Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 states, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” I strongly believe that God will complete the process of making us holy one day. May we continue to persevere.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, show us your holiness today. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, Amen!
Rev. Samuel N. Modise 
